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Circle City Classic director resigns after 4 months

IBJ Staff
October 19, 2009
Keywords
Arts & Entertainment, etc., Circle City Classic, College Sports, Events, Festivals, Indiana Sports Corp., Sporting Events, Sports Business, Tourism & Hospitality, Visitor Spending
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The executive director of the Circle City Classic announced his resignation Monday, just four months after taking the job.

In his resignation letter, Marc Williams said the organization faces challenges that are best served by someone more familiar with the inner workings of Indianapolis.

The Classic—which started in 1984—is an annual weekend of activities in early October built around a football game featuring two historically black colleges or universities. The game and related events, most of which happen downtown, typically attract more than 70,000 spectators and ring up direct visitor spending of $14.9 million, according to the Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association.

 “I truly believe in the concept of the Classic and the foundation that has been established—particularly the education component,” Williams said in his resignation letter. “I pray the Classic finds a more suitable replacement for me in the weeks to come.”

Williams, an East Coast marketing consultant, was hired in June to replace Tony Mason, who left to become senior vice president for the 2012 Super Bowl Host Committee. Williams was the fourth executive director in the event's 26-year history.


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  1. The lack of street-level retail in this part of the Block 400 development is a huge oversight and somewhat perplexing given the high quality of recent city-backed developments downtown. This portion of an otherwise stellar development is going to have an extremely negative impact on the aesthetics, urban environment, walkability, and livability of the NW quad.

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